UnBound
by spookycc
Summary: Untethered missing scene. Yes, another one. P


UnBound

by spookycc

Yet another Untethered fic. Missing scene. Set after Goren leaves Tates Correctional.

_Reposted to add a bit and correct errors._

Disclaimer: No one in here is mine. They all belong to Dick Wolf, Universal, etc. No money made, no characters harmed (in THIS fic. ;-))

_Shadows fill an empty heart...  
From all the things that we are  
But are not saying.  
Can we see beyond the scars  
And make it to the dawn?..._

What about now?  
What about today?  
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?...

selected lyrics from "What About Now?" by Daughtry

Goren looked peaceful, she thought.

Eames sat back in the uncomfortable hospital chair, and watched her partner sleep. His face looked older than it had just a few days ago, and his eyes were encircled by dark rings, from sleeplessness, and God knew what else.

Eames' eyes lit unbidden on his long, pale arms, laying atop the sheets, straight down at his sides. It was as though he was still restrained.

She bit her tongue at the sight of the angry red stripes around his wrists. Reminders that would be with him for some time, of what he'd been through. She knew his ankles bore similar welts, and his waist, though at least those areas had had clothing between his skin and the shackles that had held him. Her eyes teared up, not for the first time since they had rescued her partner from Tates Corrections.

Eames knew why Goren had gone in there. He wanted to help Donny. It was a simple motive, for such a complex man. She even thought perhaps she understood that Goren went undercover there because Donny might be the only real family he had left, now. Frank was a lost cause, she was convinced of that.

Yes, she knew _why_ he'd gone in. But she still didn't know _how_ he had endured what he had, physically _or_ mentally. And it wasn't the time to ask, not yet. It was still too raw, too fresh.

Unable to look away from her partner's still form, she focused for a moment on his hands. Below the red marks left by the restraints, his hands rested quietly, his long fingers relaxed. He had beautiful hands; that had been one of the things she'd first noticed about him, some seven years ago. It was unusual for them to be still for this long - Goren used his hands so expressively when he communicated...

Goren ran his tongue over parched lips, and Eames gently applied lip balm from the container the staff had left on his bedside table. He never moved, never reacted.

Goren's unresponsive state had initially worried his partner. They had told her that he _was_ just sleeping, but he appeared almost unconscious, to her. And they'd warned her that unconsciousness was also a possibility, as his mind shut down and allowed his body to heal. He hadn't been sedated at admission, since they weren't sure what drugs he already had in his system.

They now had the information from Tates as to what he had been given, assuming that the correctional institution even recorded their drug administrations honestly. As yet, he hadn't needed anything, and Eames was glad. He'd been resting quietly, and she wanted him to come back to them on his own, not under the influence of even more drugs.

A nurse came into Goren's room, gave Eames a small smile, and checked Bobby's vitals for the umpteenth time since their arrival. Eames had been concerned that Bobby's heart rate had been high when he was brought in, and his respirations were fast. The ER physician had explained that this was to be expected, as Goren's body compensated for the decrease in blood pressure brought on by his severe dehydration.

Her partner's temperature was still elevated too, though it was dropping a bit each time the nurses checked it. Eames was grateful that the medical staff didn't mind her asking questions about his condition and care. She needed to understand what was happening to him, at least physically. The nurse finished charting his vitals, checked his IV, and left Eames with another sympathetic smile.

As Eames watched her partner, his eyes moved behind their heavy lids. His long, soft eyelashes moved ever so lightly, as if he might be awakening.

Instead, his voice rang out in the quiet room, startling Eames. "Water! Need water!"

She was on her feet, leaning over him, in an instant - unsure how to comfort him but unwilling to stand by without trying.

She rested a hand on his arm.

It was the wrong thing to do.

Goren's arms flailed wildly, nearly knocking her off balance.

"I'll take the damn pills!" Goren's hoarse voice shouted through cracked lips.

Eames spoke softly to her partner, trying to calm him. "Wake up, Bobby, it's alright."

_Would he ever really be alright again?_"Please! Get me out!" Eyes squeezed shut, Goren thrashed about in bed. His legs were tangled in the sheets, which undoubtedly made him feel even more trapped.

"It's okay, Bobby... it's ok."

His nurse had heard the commotion, and entered the room armed with a syringe. But Goren had pulled the IV start out of his hand. She put the cap on the syringe and slid it into her pocket. And tried unsuccessfully to slow his flailing arms. Eames backed off, but the nurse had no more luck in calming him than she had.

The nurse turned to her. "We really need to restrain-"

"No. No way." Eames interrupted the nurse. She pushed her way closer to the bed, and stood over her partner once more.

"Bobby it's me. It's Eames." Placing a hand on either side of his head, she spoke more loudly than she wanted to, only because she desperately needed to break through to him.

His thrashing slowed almost imperceptibly, and she moved her hands to his shoulders.

"You're not at Tates anymore, Bobby, you're in the hospital."

Ever so slowly, she talked him down from the edge where he had been. Chest heaving, he fell back limply onto the bed, his nostrils flaring as he fought for breath.

Eames took one of his hands in hers, hoping he would not regard it as a threat. She rubbed his hand in soft circles as his breathing slowed.

"Bobby, we don't have any restraints on you. But the nurse needs to restart your IV. I need to you relax. OK?"

Goren's eyes opened to the smallest of slits, and he looked straight into his partner's face.

He licked dry lips again. "Eames?"

"Yeah. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you, Bobby. Stay with me, ok?"

He nodded lightly, and Eames let the nurse back in to restart his IV. He needed fluids as much as he needed anything else, right now.

The nurse finished her work, speaking softly to Goren, and pulled the syringe back out of her pocket. Eames closed her hand around the nurse's wrist.

"Is that a sedative?" she asked.

"Yes, but it's safe. We know what they used on him at Tates." the nurse answered.

Eames shook her head. "Only as a last resort. He's doing better now."

The nurse pulled her arm from Eames' light grasp. "It's your call - you're listed as Health Care Proxy." She put the syringe back in her pocket. Her voice softened. "We're only trying to help."

Eames nodded. "I know. But I don't want him under any more drugs unless he absolutely needs them."

The nurse rechecked Bobby's IV, and nodded to Eames as she left.

Eames sat down in the chair and pulled it closer to Goren's bed. His weary eyes followed her, and he lifted his head from the pillow, his face still beaded with sweat.

Eames poured water from pitcher to glass, and held it to her partner's lips. Made sure he didn't drink too quickly.

"Don... How's Donny?" he asked.

Eames really didn't want to go into that yet, but she suspected that being a fugitive was safer for Donny than being at Tates.

"He escaped. Faked appendicitis."

Goren nodded. "Where?"

Eames sighed. "We don't know yet, Bobby. But we'll find him..."

Goren's expression clouded, and he let his head fall back on the pillow again, his energy sapped. His adrenaline rush faded, and it left him exhausted.

Eames leaned over and wiped his face gently with a cool, damp cloth. His eyes closed slowly, and she ran a hand through his sweat-slicked hair, pushing it back off his forehead.

They had a lot to talk about. But he needed time, first. For now, the talking could wait...

_fini_

Please read and review? Thanks!


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